Field of Invention
This invention relates to wearable devices to measure and capture human motion.
Review and Limitations of the Prior Art
The goal of this invention is the creation of Motion Recognition Clothing™ which comprises a wearable, mobile, reasonably-priced, and relatively-unobtrusive full-body motion-capture system which can be used in diverse environments. There are motion capture technologies in the prior art, but they all have significant limitations compared to this invention.
As an example of prior art technology, there are camera-based motion capture systems. Some of these camera-based motion capture systems are very complex, comprising a circle of multiple cameras which each track a moving individual from a different perspective. These multi-camera systems can be accurate, but they also constrain a person to a space comprising the intersection of the fields of vision of these cameras. In addition to being relatively immobile, these multi-camera systems can also be relatively expensive.
There are simpler, single-camera motion capture systems which are designed for home use. Some relatively-simple and reasonably-priced single-camera systems are used for home computer gaming, exercise routines, and other applications. However, these single-camera motion capture systems also restrict a person to remain in the field of vision of the camera. They are not mobile for outdoor activities such as golf or running or swimming. Further, relying on one camera (or even two cameras which are close together) means that the system cannot track the locations of body members when the camera's direct line of sight to them is obscured by other body members or objects.
As another example of prior art technology, there are complex full-body portable motion capture suits comprising a relatively-large number of accelerometers, gyroscopes, and/or electrogoniometers. However, the more-accurate versions of such full-body motion capture suits tend to be relatively cumbersome and expensive. They can be great for motion capture for specialized purposes such as creating a video game or performance art, but are not well suited for contact sports or sports that involve extensive locational movement.
As another example of prior art technology, there is growing use of single-location accelerometer devices, such as wrist bands with accelerometers. These devices tend to be much less expensive and less intrusive than either the complex camera-based motion capture systems or the sophisticated full-body motion capture suits. They can perform adequately for measuring generalized “activity level”, but they are not well-suited for capturing complex full-body motion such as that which occurs in sports like golf or gymnastics.
Due to the limitations of camera-based systems, cumbersome full-body motion capture suits, and single-location accelerometer devices in the prior art, there remains a need for a wearable, mobile, reasonably-priced, and relatively-unobtrusive full-body motion-capture system which can be used in diverse environments.